I just woke up from the aftermath of Christmas. Wrapping paper everywhere. Gifts covering my room. I found an iTunes gift card that I hadn’t seen the night before. My parents were watching TV in the living room. Oh, and there’s snow outside. First time for an Atlanta Christmas since 1882.

On TV, my parents were watching a National Geographic special on a cave in Mexico with what might be the world’s largest crystals. These things are massive!

The crystals are made out of gypsum (CaSO4 • 2H2O for you chemistry buffs!) and can are as big as 36 feet long! The cave is called Cueva de los Cristales (literally translated Cave of the Crystals) and was found in 2000 near Delicias in the region of Chihuahua. The crystals have been exposed by a modern mining company, which continues to pump water out of the cave. If pumping were to stop, water would once again fill the cave.

This cave honestly looks like something out of a science fiction movie or novel. Its amazing to me that Mother Nature can hold so many secrets that we don’t know about. We think we have canvassed every surface of this earth, but we are still only just beginning. Proof, once again, of Mother Nature’s awesome power!

Hope you enjoyed, and come back for the next installment of MotherNaturesPen.